Volvo continues gas development

VOLVO

Trucks Continues To Develop Multiple

technologies to reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector.

Much of that focus has been on new battery electric trucks but for European markets there is also investment in trucks that can run on liquified biogas while performing long distance transport roles.

New gas-powered truck models announced recently by Volvo Truck deliver improved performance and fuel efficiency along with a 10% larger gas tank, extending their range to up to 1000km.

Five years ago, Volvo Trucks launched its first trucks that can run on liquified biogas, often called bio-LNG, which is a renewable fuel that can be produced from many types of organic waste, including food scraps. The fuel can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 100%.

“Biogas is a great complement to electric transports, helping hauliers with their sustainability ambitions and aims towards climate neutral transports,” says Daniel Bergstrand, product manager for gas-powered trucks at Volvo Trucks.

The gas-powered Volvo FH and FM models are now offered with a new power level of 500hp, joining the previous 420 and 460hp engines. The latest gas engines meet Euro 6 Step E and also get major technical upgrades that makes them up to 4% more fuel efficient, which together with a new 10% larger gas tank, contributes to a longer range.

The increased efficiency is obtained by new injectors and pistons for lowered friction, together with a new turbo, variable oil pump, and Crank Case Ventilation that handles unfiltered oil.

“Our efficient gas-powered trucks have a performance comparable to their diesel equivalents. Fuelling up is almost as fast as a diesel truck and the growing network of more than 600 fuel stations for both bio-LNG and LNG in Europe makes them ideal for long-haul transports,” says Bergstrand. The strengthened gas-powered line up fits well with Volvo Trucks threepath strategic roadmap to reach zero emissions: battery electric trucks, fuel cell trucks and combustion engines that run on renewable fuels like biogas, HVO or even green hydrogen.

“Several technical solutions are needed because the availability of energy and fuel infrastructure differs greatly between countries and regions, and also because the requirements for each transport assignment can vary,” Bergstrand says.

Bio-LNG (also called LBG) is a renewable fuel that is liquid biogas (biomethane). Any organic waste can be digested to produce biogas, for example sludge from treatment plants, food waste, manure and other residual products.

European production of bio-LNG is expected to ramp up quickly to shift away from the use of fossil LNG. The EU Commission has put forward a plan called REPower EU, where the focus is on creating greatly increased domestic production capacity for different kinds of energy. The plan is to boost annual biogas production ten times by 2030 and the sector has already started a rapid growth phase

More than 78 bio-LNG plants are already confirmed to be ready in Europe by 2024. Germany and Italy, together with the Netherlands, are expected to be the leading bio-LNG countries in the coming years while outside of Europe the potential for biogas is gaining interest.

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